Glenfarclas Limited Rare Bottling 23 Years Old 1995

Glenfarclas from the distillery, a 23 year old, from 1995, at 46%, 6000 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt drawn from the largest, direct fired stills in Speyside. It draws on that deep inventory for the Family Casks, single vintages reaching back to the 1950s.

The spirit was drawn from a thick, heavy wash, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood working deep into the malt. Through the evaporative decades the esters fold into raisin, fig, beeswax and a bittersweet chocolate. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The full bodied spirit takes active sherry wood well, carrying its dark sugars through the years.

At 46% it is smooth and rich. Baked apple, honey and a dark chocolate, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is full and fruity, the spirit carrying the cask. A long finish carries raisin, chocolate and a treacle. This is a Speyside single malt of real standing.